AP: Va. man will admit helping Somali terror group

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Source: AP

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press Writer


ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A northern Virginia man who warned the creators of the animated TV show "South Park" that they risked death for mocking the prophet Muhammad is scheduled to plead guilty to supporting an al-Qaida linked terrorist group, according to court records.

Zachary Chesser of Bristow, Va., a 20-year-old dropout from George Mason University, is scheduled for a plea hearing Wednesday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., court records show. He is charged with providing material support to a terrorist group, communicating threats and soliciting crimes of violence.

According to a court affidavit, Chesser tried to join the al-Shabab terror group in Somalia earlier this year and posted online propaganda for them. Chesser also allegedly took his infant son with him to the airport to make his travel appear more innocuous.

Both the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria and Chesser's attorney, federal public defender Michael Nachmanoff, declined comment Tuesday.

Before Chesser's arrest in July on the terror charges, he was best known for posting a harshly worded attack on the creators of the "South Park" cartoon for their perceived mockery of the prophet Muhammad.



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